Through the Looking Glass
by Neuropsych
Summary: (COMPLETE) Ian goes through the gate, and things get odd (Rated for Ian's language, and there's always the chance of violence)
1. 01

**Through the Looking Glass**

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the people that I didn't create. I do, however, own Ian, and Jaffer and anyone else that comes into this story that I did create, so if you want to use them, ask first, because I might have other plans for them!_

OOOOOOOOOO

"So how far away is this Alpha site place?"

Jack shrugged.

"Beats me. Once I walk through the gate, it only takes about three steps to get there… so I'd say… ten feet?"

Ian shook his head, smiling slightly.

"_Sam_ would know."

"So ask her."

The cadet stopped, and Jack grabbed him by the Kevlar vest he was wearing and tugged on him, telling him to keep walking without actually saying it. It wasn't something Ian would take from many people, but Jack was definitely an exception. Jaffer stopped as well – the black lab having been walking beside Jack like a second shadow.

"I didn't _mean_ it, smart ass. When you get there, ask Colonel Lang. He'll know."

Ian smiled; he hadn't planned on going back and asking Sam, he'd just wanted to fuck with Jack one last time before he was sent off to the Alpha site.

"I'll do that."

They walked into the embarkation room, and Ian found that Teal'c and Daniel were both waiting to see him off. As was General Hammond. Ian, Jack and Jaffer walked over to the base of the ramp, and stopped at the small group.

"All set?" Hammond asked the cadet.

Ian nodded.

"Yes, Sir."

"I don't have to tell you to behave yourself, do I?"

Ian shook his head, hiding his annoyance. The last thing he needed was a lecture, for Christ's sake.

"No, Sir."

"Colonel Lang will meet you and Colonel O'Neill – he's waiting for you. His orders are to show you the Alpha site and then put you into classes with the officers and recruits that are already there. When Master Bra'tac shows up, he'll take over your training for however long he's at the Alpha site – you are not authorized to leave the Alpha site, do you understand?"

Ian nodded. Where was he going to go? Mars?

"Don't worry, Sir," Jack said with a grin. "I'll make sure he's settled before I come back."

Hammond scowled at the interruption to his lecture, but he nodded.

"You do that, Colonel."

He turned and looked up at the command center and nodded, signaling to Sergeant Davis to start dialing the Alpha site.

"Here," Daniel said, holding out a book to the Cadet. Ian took it and looked down, and realized it was one of the books he'd borrowed from Daniel's place to read – and hadn't managed to get past the third chapter because of unforeseeable events. "Maybe you can finish it."

"Thanks, Daniel."

Teal'c stepped forward as well.

"Give my regards to Master Bra'tac, Cadet Brooks." The Jaffa told him.

"I'll tell him you said hi."

The gate flared, and Ian looked over at it, amazed as always by how cool it looked – never mind the craziness of the technology behind it, which just made it that much cooler.

"Ready?" Jack asked.

Ian nodded, and let Jack and Jaffer lead him up the ramp. Even though it was pretty cool that he was going off world – and he was looking forward to seeing Bra'tac again – he could help but feel like he was being banished, and that was just a little annoying. It wasn't like he was going to be able to send postcards or anything – and while he didn't have a lot of friends, he was pretty much being sent off to live with a bunch of strangers for the next three weeks or so. He stopped and took a look over his shoulder and then followed Jack and Jaffer through the gate.

And stepped out a moment later completely alone and looking at a barren wasteland. No Jack. No Jaffer. No Alpha site as near as he could tell. You'd think the Alpha site would at least have a building or two – or a few people – and wasn't Colonel Lang supposed to be waiting for him and Jack?

"Welcome, Ian."

Shocked, he turned and looked behind him. _That_ was a voice he knew well, and one he'd never seen the face to. He'd heard it in his head several times. A man was standing behind him – where the wormhole would have been had it not disengaged when he'd stepped out of it. A man with black hair and gray eyes that were watching him cheerfully, as if amused by his confusion.

"Why do I get the feeling you're _not_ Colonel Lang?"

"Because I'm not."

"What the hell's going on? How did I get here?"

There was no doubt that he was in the wrong place.

The man smiled.

"We _built_ the Stargates, Ian. Do you think it would be so difficult for us to hijack one?"

OOOOOOOOO

The gate flared behind the iris, and Hammond looked over at Sergeant Davis, who was checking the computer. The man looked up at Hammond.

"It's Colonel O'Neill, Sir."

"Open the iris." Hammond moved from the control center and headed for the stairs as Davis obeyed the orders, palming the switch that controlled the metal barrier that protected the SGC from invaders.

The iris opened and Jack O'Neill came through a moment later, with Jaffer right beside him. He smiled as Hammond came over to meet him.

"How did it go, Colonel?" Hammond asked.

Jack shrugged, giving Hammond one of his patented cocky grins.

"Great, Sir. Colonel Lang was there to meet us, and he and Ian seemed to hit it off."

Hammond nodded.

"Thank you, Colonel. You're dismissed. Have a good night."

"Yes, Sir. You, too."

With Jaffer trotting beside him, Jack headed for Sam's lab, wondering if she was still there or if she'd gone home for the night.


	2. 02

Author's note: This story is probably going to be the most complicated I've written so far (which doesn't make it a bad thing) but it does mean that I'm going to be double checking my work a bit more on this one, since a mistake can screw me up big time! so I probably will only be posting once a day or so. At least for the more important parts. So please bear with me! (and enjoy the ride, it's going to be fun)

OOOOOOOOO

"So you're an _Ancient_…?"

The man nodded, still smiling.

"You didn't _really_ think I was God, did you?"

Ian shrugged. He hadn't known what to think. It wasn't all _that_ often he heard voices in his head, after all.

"Who are you?"

"You can call me Alexander."

"Where are Jack and Jaffer?"

"Back at the SGC by now."

"You need to send me _back_ there. He's going to be _pissed_, and –" Ian realized something else. "_Shit_. Sam's going to be worried. You need to send me back, _now_. She's already had enough to worry about these last few weeks, and she's pregnant. Worrying isn't good-"

Alexander held up his hand to stop Ian.

"Relax, Ian. As far as Jack knows, he's delivered you safely to the Alpha site. He's not going to be angry – or worried – and Sam and Jacob are fine. We wouldn't do anything to endanger her or-"

"Jacob?"

Alexander frowned, and Ian realized that he hadn't meant to let that slip. Ancient or not, they _did_ make mistakes, didn't they?

"Sam's baby."

"You know it's a boy? You know his name? It hasn't even been _born_, yet."

"Not in your reality, no."

"Not in…" Ian scowled, and crossed his arms over his chest – although with the book Daniel had given him in his hand it didn't look quite as imposing as he'd hoped for. "_What's_ going on? Why am I here? _Where_ am I and what are you-"

"We need to talk."

"About…?"

"You."

"Well, we could have talked about me some day when you popped into my head in the middle of the night. You didn't need to-"

"I needed to see you face to face, and to do that I needed to bring you here."

"Why?"

"Because I'm _solid_ here."

Wherever _here_ was, Ian thought to himself, looking around. All he could see was rocky ground from the gate and as far as the eye could see. Flat rocky ground – although he did see one of those dial home devices like Daniel had shown him on the planet they'd met Bra'tac.

"Well… _here_… we are…" Ian said, unable to hide the sarcasm – and annoyance – in his voice. "What do you want to know?"

"What I want to know is how you can recall our conversations when no one else-"

"I already told you," Ian said, scowling. "I don't forget things. I hear them. I see them. I _remember_ them. I don't know what else I can tell you. It's just a knack I have."

"It's nothing we've seen before."

"Yeah, well… you're an _alien_, right?"

Alexander smiled.

"Yeah. I'm an alien. But I've been on the Earth a lot longer than you could imagine, and I haven't seen anything like your… knack."

"Lots of people have photographic memories."

"Not like _yours_, though."

Ian shrugged.

"I can't tell you anything."

"We want to take you someplace where we might be able to figure it out. Would you be-"

"_Take_ me somewhere?" He interrupted. "I see a shitload of rocks and dirt and not a whole lot else, Alexander. We're going to go for a ride in your invisible Mercedes?"

The Ancient didn't seem at all fazed by Ian's obvious sarcasm, nor did he seem to be bothered by the anger in his voice. Instead, he stepped up beside Ian – who stepped to the side and lowered his hand towards his side arm; he didn't have anything against this guy, but he wasn't going to let him too close to him if he could avoid it.

Alexander saw the motion and shook his head.

"Don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid." Ian told him.

"Look."

Alexander's attention turned from Ian to the area in front of the Stargate, and Ian's went that way, too. A moment later a small craft appeared, hovering in midair about seven feet off the ground. It was odd-shaped – almost like a tin can on its side, and through the front window Ian could see another person at the controls. And he was close enough to it to see who it was. It was Dotty Adams.

"What the _fuck_…?"

"Will you come with us, Ian?"

"Where?" He couldn't take his eyes off the ship – or the pilot.

"I'll tell you when we get there."

"And if I decide I don't want to stay…?"

"Then we'll bring you back."

"Here? Or home?"

"Here, to start…"

Ian scowled. He figured if he went, then he'd find out what was going on – which was a good thing, because he really wanted to know what the fuck was going on – but he really didn't-

"I don't like to fly."

"We're not really going to be flying anywhere. The Gateship will just take us through the-"

"_Gateship_?"

Alexander shrugged.

"It's a _ship_, and it goes through the gate… what else would we call it?"

Ian crossed his arms, again. This was too fucking crazy for him.

"I want to go home."

OOOOOOOOOO

Sam hadn't gone home for the night. Jack hadn't really expected her to, since she'd told him she'd wait for him, but you never really knew sometimes, right? He and Jaffer walked into her lab and found her sitting on a stool looking into a microscope.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Looking at a naquida fusion regulator to see if there are any minor flaws in it," she told him without looking up at him.

"And _are_ there?" He asked, coming over and standing behind her, leaning over and wrapping his arms around her, his chin coming down lightly on her shoulder.

"I don't see any."

"And that's _good_, right?"

She nodded, still not looking at him.

"How'd it go?"

"Fine. I dropped him off, warned Lang about his instant temper – just add air – and here I am."

"Why did it take you so long?"

"It didn't."

She turned and looked at him, now, and when she did she came nose to nose with him. And he smiled. Which made her smile and forget about whatever it was she was going to say. He had such wonderful eyes. She'd fallen in love with those eyes long before she'd fallen in love with the rest of him. About a whole fifteen minutes, anyways.

He took that moment to steal a kiss, and then let her go, knowing that this really wasn't the place or time to cuddle with her – unless she _needed_ being cuddled, in which case he was always willing to hold her.

"Are you ready to go home?"

She nodded.

"I'm done here for the night."


	3. 03

The Ancient stared at Ian, who still had his arms across his chest.

"We'd _really_ like for you to come with-"

"I don't care."

"Ian…"

The Gateship landed on the ground with a gentle thud, and Dotty disappeared from the front window, only to reemerge from somewhere in the back. Alexander looked at her, lifting his hands, palms up.

"What's wrong, father?"

"_Father_?"

Alexander ignored the cadet.

"He won't come."

"Ian. We need to-"

"I'm not _going_."

Neither of them knew him all that well, but if they had, they'd have known he was at his worst when he was placed in a situation like this. He hated cloak and dagger mystery shit, and he certainly wasn't going to let two aliens take him someplace without even telling him _where_ they were going. Especially in some kind of whacked out space ship that didn't even _look_ like a space ship – more like a coffee can with a hole punched in the front to look out.

"Why not?" Dotty asked, curiously.

"He's afraid."

"I'm not _afraid_. I'm just not going."

"Ian…"

"Look, _who_ are you?"

"Dotty-"

"No. Dotty Adams doesn't fly around in spaceships on other planets abducting people. She-"

"The Dotty Adams _you_ know doesn't," she corrected, cutting him off.

"Yeah, well, since Shawn never mentioned his mother having an evil twin, I'm just going to assume there's only one of-"

"There's one in every reality," Alexander interrupted. "_Most_ realities, anyways."

There was that word again. _Reality_. It was the second time he'd used it, and neither time made sense.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't have time to explain, Ian. We're cutting things fairly short as it-"

"I'm not going with you."

Alexander scowled – and it didn't bother Ian a bit. He wasn't trying to make friends, after all.

"Look, we don't ha-"

"Just explain it, Father," Dotty said. "We can _make_ the time."

He turned his scowl on her, but it didn't have any more affect on her than it did Ian. Finally he sighed.

"Fine. What do you know about alternate realities?"

Ian shrugged.

"Nothing."

"_Great_…"

The cadet didn't like the way he said that.

"Explain it to me," he suggested, using a tone that was deliberately goading. "Use little words."

"There are countless different realities out there," Alexander said, ignoring the drawling insolence. He didn't have time to argue. "Some are very similar to the one you live in and some are a lot different. We're from one that's similar."

"You're from a different reality?" Ian asked, unsure if he was trying to deliberately confuse him with an outlandish lie, or if he was just retarded.

"Actually, _we're_ from _this_ reality – you're the one that doesn't belong here."

Ian reached out and poked Alexander.

"You feel pretty real to me."

"My reality is just a real as the one you're from." Alexander told him, rubbing his arm where the cadet had poked him.

"Yeah? In _my_ reality, you're a voice in my head. Can you do that trick here?"

"I _could_. Except _you_ don't exist in this reality. Which is why you can be here comfortably."

"What?"

"A person can't exist for very long simultaneously in one reality," Dotty explained. "We had to find one where _we_ existed, but which you didn't."

"So where am I in this reality?"

"You're dead. You crashed your uncle's car and killed yourself a few years ago."

"I didn't _die_ when I wrecked it. I just knocked myself out for a few-"

"In _your_ reality, you lived," Alexander told him. "In this one, you died. Which is why you can visit here."

"How do you know that?" Ian asked, more confused than when he'd started. "If I'm dead here, how do _you_ know about me?"

"Because the same way you're visiting here, our alternatives selves have visited us – for short periods of time – to compare notes, so to speak."

"You can just jump realities so easily?"

"If you know how to do it, you can."

Ian scowled.

"So you brought me to a different reality…"

"Yes."

"To talk to me face to face."

"Yes."

"Where's Jack?"

"Which one?"

Ian scowled, fairly certain they were _trying_ to confuse him, now.

"_My_ Jack."

"He's back on Earth."

"How-"

"Ian, we really don't have a lot of time," Dotty said. "I know it's confusing, but you need to believe us that what we're doing is important, and that as soon as we're done, we'll bring you back home, and no one will be the wiser that you were gone."

"_I'll_ know. I won't forg-"

"_Forget_, yes, we know."

Alexander sighed.

"Sam's not going to be worried?"

"No. She won't even know anything's out of the ordinary."

Well, things were certainly out of the fucking _ordinary_, weren't they? Still… Ian owed Dotty – she'd saved his life, after all. And he owed Alexander, as well, since he'd been the one to pull him through the injuries until Dotty had made it to his side. If they wanted him dead, they could have let him die.

"Fine. I'll go with you."

They both relaxed a little, and Ian hadn't even realized they were so tense.

"Good. Let's go."

"But I'm leaving when I want to..."

"Fine."

"I mean it."

"I know."

The Ancients led him off the Stargate platform and to the back end of the ship, which was opened, and up a ramp. The hatch closed almost immediately, and all the systems started coming online before Dotty or Alexander either one had a chance to touch anything. Must be automated.

They went to the front of the craft, and Ian followed, even though there wasn't another place to sit once Dotty took the pilot's seat and Alexander took the copilot seat. The console between the two of them glowed, and Ian decided that the symbols on it were the same type of symbols as those on the Dial Home Device.

As the ship started lifting, Alexander started touching the symbols, and then as he touched the last one, the stargate in front of them flared.

"I thought there were only _seven_ symbols in a Stargate address."

Alexander looked over at Dotty, chagrined, and Dotty shook her head. Neither of them looked happy about something, but Ian didn't know what it was.

"We're going a long ways, Ian," Alexander told him. "When you're going that distance, you need another symbol."

"Because it's a longer jump, so you'd need to be even more precise on the connection?" He asked.

"Something like that."

"Wouldn't you need more power, then?"

"Yes, but the Gateship produces the power – if you know how to activate it. It's not _that_ much further. Now be quiet for a minute, okay?"

He scowled, but he did as he was told, figuring it was better to be quiet than distract them and crash and burn. Not that he was _afraid_ to fly… he just… didn't _like_ to fly. There was a difference.

The ship lifted even further, and then started forward, and Ian wondered if it would even fit in the Stargate – it didn't seem like it would. He was tempted to ask, but they were both looking forward and concentrating, so once more his self-survival gene took over, and he stayed quiet, hoping they wouldn't whack the wall or something. He wondered if they'd rather just walk, but knew it was too late to ask them.

They were already almost to the event horizon. Ian held his breath. He'd already died in this reality once, after all. He didn't want to do it again.


	4. 04

The trip through the gate seemed longer to Ian than the other times – even though he was hardly an expert on such things, since he'd been through it all of three times in his entire life – and one of those trips had been hijacked so who knew how long it was supposed to take? The Gateship came out of the Stargate into a large room, and Ian had just enough time to take a quick look through the front window to see a big staircase and a lot of people – _Ancients_? – looking at them before they began to rise up (or the floor began to sink). Whatever it was, they ended up in another room – this one filled with other Gateships, all neatly parked in what looked like shelves.

"Where are we?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Why not?"

"Because it's a secret."

Alexander stood up, and gestured for Ian to follow him.

"What's so secret about it?" Ian asked, following him out the back hatch. "You can tell me all about other realities and about all that shit, but not where we are?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Alexander told him, looking over his shoulder to make sure he was following him and hadn't stopped with his arms folded stubbornly across his chest once more. But Ian _was_ following him, looking around him curiously.

They were obviously in some kind of large complex, but beyond that he didn't have a clue. It even had an alien _feel_ to it.

"Where are we going?"

"To my lab."

"Your _lab_? What are you, some kind of mad scientist?"

Alexander laughed, and Ian smiled, despite his curiosity. It was the same gentle humor that he'd felt in his head – and the same laugh. It was almost a comfort to hear something so familiar in such an odd place – and in the middle of such odd happenings.

"I'm not mad, but I do like to consider myself a scientist."

"Are you a scientist in every reality?" Ian asked. "Or just this one?"

Alexander paused, which gave Ian a chance to walk up beside him instead of trailing behind him, and there was a deep sadness in his gray eyes when he spoke next.

"In _this_ reality I'm a scientist. In several, however – _most_ of them really – we're no longer in this city, and my people are far different than how they'll appear to you now."

"What are you in _my_ reality?" Ian asked.

"I can't tell you."

"Are you real?"

"Mostly."

"Why-?"

"Ian, I honestly can't tell you. You're already seeing far more than we dare show anyone else, and-"

"Why are you showing me?"

"Because we needed to bring you _here_ to find out what it is about you that sets you apart from the others around you."

"It's my sunny personality."

Even Alexander knew better than that, and _he'd_ only just met the boy.

"I have a feeling it's a little more complicated than that."

Ian shrugged, and might have continued his questioning, but the two of them entered a room that definitely looked like a lab. There were all sorts of gizmos and doohickeys stored on shelves and on worktables and even on the floor if they were too big to fit on any of the aforementioned places.

"Wow… you're a regular Frankenstein, huh?" Ian asked, looking around. It was even more cluttered than Sam's lab – or her workroom at her house. And that was saying something.

Alexander shrugged.

"Frankenstein created a monster. I have no intention of doing that."

Which proved that the Ancient _did_ actually know something about Earth if he knew about the story of Frankenstein.

"What are you going to do?" Ian asked curiously. "Tests?"

"On you, you mean?"

"Duh."

Yup, it had to be the sunny personality.

"Yes. We're going to start with genetic testing, if you-"

"I thought you were in a hurry?"

"We are. Which is why we-"

"Genetic testing takes forever."

"Not here it doesn't." Alexander handed him a small box-like device, and Ian took it without thinking. And almost dropped it when there was a slight buzzing in his hand almost immediately.

"What the fuck is that?"

"Just hold on to it for a minute."

The door opened while Ian was debating telling Alexander to take his little box and shove it, and another… person… walked in. This one was male, too, but a lot older looking than Alexander. He had gray hair, and green eyes, and was wearing an odd looking jumpsuit, and he smiled broadly when he saw Ian.

"Is this him?"

Alexander nodded.

"Ian, this is Sander. Sander, this is-"

"Ian, yes."

"_Sander_, huh?"

The newcomer smiled.

"You find my name humorous?"

"Are you kidding? I have a roommate named _River_, for Christ's sake. I don't laugh at anyone's name."

OOOOOOOOOO

"How about Ralph?"

"I'm _not_ naming my daughter _Ralph_."

Sam smiled. They were continuing a discussion that they always seemed to have whenever there was a quiet moment between the two of them. Like just then, when they were cuddling in bed, the warmth of his body next to her, and the very comfort he exuded when she was near him making her sleepy after a long day.

"It's not a bad name."

"What about Sheila?"

"Like what the Crocodile Hunter guy calls all the women?" Sam smiled sleepily and shook her head. "Not a chance."

"Katy?"

"He's going to get beat up a lot if we name him Katy."

"She's never going to have to worry about getting beat up… Uncle Teal'c will take care of that."

She smiled again, and slid her hand along his stomach, her head resting on his shoulder and her eyes closing. She was just about asleep, and Jack knew it, so he kept talking, relieving her of the task of holding a conversation with him.

"Yeah, between Teal'c and me, that little girl is going to be the most protected little…"

What she was going to be Sam never found out. She'd already fallen asleep. Jack cuddled her just a little closer, made sure she was covered, and then allowed himself to drift off as well.

He'd have to come up with more names… he was running out of them quickly.


	5. 05

_Author's note: This chapter gets complicated... sorry!_

OOOOOOOOOo

"So what do you do around here, Sander?" Ian asked, his attention drawn from the buzzing box in his hand to the newcomer.

"I run things."

"Head Ancient, huh?"

Sander nodded, and frowned, then reached out and touched Ian's shoulder before the Cadet could move away. A moment later he realized what had happened, because all the residual aches from the injuries that he'd taken vanished in a heartbeat. Of course, he'd been fairly well on his way to being healed anyways – thanks to Janet Fraiser, and then Dotty and then Janet's care in her infirmary for the final touches – but he noticed the difference immediately.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. And you are welcomed here, even though your stay will be, by necessity, short."

"Well, since I don't know _where_ I am, I'm not going to cry when I have to leave."

Alexander smiled, and walked across the room and pressed a panel on the wall. Ian felt a sharp increase in the buzzing in the device in his hand, and a moment later a holographic image started appearing near Alexander. Ian and Sander both turned that way as well, and Ian's jaw dropped when he realized that the hologram was of himself. Then he frowned. His hologram self was naked.

"How about some clothing, sport?"

Alexander snorted, but before he could say anything, the skin on the hologram vanished, showing the musculature under the skin, covering the bones – including his ribs, and the thin membrane and musclesthat covered the belly, holding the internal organs in position. Ian couldn't help but feel a touch of pride at the perfect six-pack - even though it was a little gruesome to see it without the skin.

"Ick."

In another moment the musculature vanished – including the organs, and all that was there were bones. Including red marks that Ian recognized were places that were bones he'd broken through his life – and there were several.

"Wow…"

The bones swirled and vanished, and although the outline of Ian remained, the rest was replaced by little moving bits and pieces that weren't labeled – but which Ian instinctively decided were DNA.

"This is your DNA," Alexander said, confirming Ian's guess a moment later, and watching a readout on the wall while Sander and Ian watched the pieces swirling around inside the outline of the human form. "What we're looking for is an anomaly that might tell – _there_ it is."

His attention was solely on the readout on the wall, so he didn't see both Ian and Sander walk over to stand behind him, looking over his shoulder. _Sander_ might have understood the wacky readout – and the odd symbols and pictures on the readout – but Ian didn't have a clue.

"What?"

"You're human, but-"

"Of course I'm human."

"But _what_?" Sander asked.

Alexander looked up from the readout and turned to the hologram once more, and Ian's gaze followed his. The swirling lights formed into a noticeable DNA chain, the double helix plain to see, and something Ian could at least recognize.

"There…" Alexander said, gesturing. An instant later the helix grew so they could see it better and the human form vanished. "Between the carbon and nitrogen in the cross-linked purine and pyrimidine bases." The area in question – which was the interior of the helix – was magnified, and there was a small red dot that was pulsing slightly.

"What's that?" Ian asked. So far he wasn't too confused – he'd studied DNA and genetics, after all – but he'd never seen it broken down so completely before, and this was going beyond him. Something he didn't like, and something that he wasn't going to allow if he could avoid it. "A gene?"

"It's a gene, but it's not one that I've seen active before. Not in any _human_."

"What the fuck does _that_ mean?"

"He's _human_," Sander said, just as confused. "You said it yourself."

"He _is_ human," Alexander said, nodding. "It's a _cognizance_ gene. One that is there because of the origins of humans but started out as latent in the species and eventually died out completely."

"Obviously not." Sander said.

"Well, genes are always _there_, even when they're not being used. Humans – and other multi-celled life forms – are incredibly complicated, and when a gene isn't necessary for improvement of the species, it comes into play less and less often, and eventually recedes until it doesn't have any affect on the cellular level." He looked at Ian to see if he was following along, and didn't see a blank stare as he'd expected, but he gave an example anyways, just to make sure he understood.

"For instance, there was a time when your people had far more body hair than they do now. It was mainly used for protection form the elements and as a disease control device, but as time went on, your kind mastered the use of fire and other variables for warmth, and discovered that you could cover yourselves with cloth and furs to stay warm. As the need for the excess hair faded, so did the gene that produced it. Now, only a very small percentage of your people ever have a large quantity of body hair, and in time, even _that_ number will decrease."

"Which means…?"

"That fewer people will have hairy-"

"Not the _hairy people_, Alexander," Ian interrupted, irritated. "I understand the example." He hadn't even needed the example. "What does that cognizance gene mean? Where did it come from?"

"From my people."

"What?"

"My people have been watching yours for a long time, Ian – from the very beginning."

"You mentioned that before."

"Well, _sometimes_ they didn't just watch. It hasn't happened in centuries, but in the history of your species there have been a few times when a cross-breeding would occur – when someone would fall for one of the subjects he or she was watching, and would mate with one of them. Genetically, our species' are compatible, however, the offspring of such a union were always taken to be raised with us, for your kind would never understand if they showed any talents."

"A few slipped by, though," Sander said, taking up the recital. "Not many, but before the mating with humans was banned completely, occasionally one would be missed – and that child would grow up on your world, completely ignorant of his or her lineage, and most of the time would live and die without ever finding out. of course, there were exceptions, but that's another story. What Alexander is saying, is that chances are you're the great, great, and many times over great grandchild of one of these missed offspring."

"Our people _have_ this cognizance gene – although even in my species it is nowlatent and never comes into play – which is why none of us recognized it in you."

"And that's why I remember everything I see and hear?" Ian asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Neither Ancient recognized the motion, but had she been there, Maggie Brooks could have warned them that their explanation had better make sense, because it was the start of Ian at his worst.

"Your _photographic memory_ is why you remember everything you see and hear," Alexander corrected. "The cognizance gene is what makes those memories accessible to you. Other humans who have the photographic memory talent – and as you said, there are a few – are still unable to access the subconscious levels of their memories unless they're in dream state or being drugged. The gene is what makes you able to remember things you shouldn't be able to."

"A gene that no one else has…?"

"You weren't paying attention. Others _have_ it, they just don't – and _can't_ use it."

"But I do, and can?"

"It would appear that way."

"What a crock of shit." Ian turned on his heel and headed for the door. "I'm ready to go home, now."


	6. 06

The cadet was out the door before either of the Ancients realized he was leaving, and he turned unerringly towards the corridor leading to the room with all the Gateships in it.

Sander looked at Alexander, surprised.

"Go after him, Alexander, and bring him back. We can't have him running amok here of all places."

Alexander nodded and headed out the room, looking over just in time to see Ian turn a corner ahead of him. Before the Ancient could catch up to him, however, Dotty practically collided with him as she entered the hall from one corridor and Ian was passing the same area.

"Ian?" She noticed the annoyed expression on his face – it was hard to miss, after all – and deliberately stepped in front of him, certain he'd never push her aside to get past. She was right. He stopped shortly, and scowled. "What's wrong?"

"You dad's trying to convince me that we're cousins," he said, moving to the side and taking a different corridor. He figured he could always back track, and he really didn't want to have to try dodging around Dotty – even a Dotty that wasn't really the Dotty he knew. Which was really beginning to piss him off. He was tired of weird shit always happening to him.

"What?"

She was now following him, and Alexander caught up to her as well, annoyed that he'd been forced to move faster than a walk.

"What's going on?" Dotty asked him as they fell into step beside each other, moving at something that wasn't quite a run but definitely was faster than walking.

"He has a cognizance gene. That's why he remembers," Alexander said, explaining as quickly as possible. "Ian! Wait up!"

"Go fuck yourself," Ian tossed back over his shoulder, still walking and looking for a corridor that might turn back the way he needed to go.

"He's not very polite, is he?"

"I've noticed."

"Ian!"

The cadet turned a corner ahead of them, and it was Alexander's turn to bite back a curse. They hurried to turn the corner as well, and found Ian stopped cold, staring out what looked like a huge window. A window that was almost thirty feet high and looked to be holding back the ocean.

"We're underwater."

"It's just an image on a wall," Alexander said, slightly out of breath from the chase and coming to a stop next to the cadet. "Come back to my lab, we need to-"

Ian stepped forward and touched the window.

"Bullshit. It looks like a window to me."

He leaned forward and looked to the right, and thought he saw a school of fish swim by in the distance.

"It's an illusion."

Ian tapped it.

"Sounds real to me."

"Ian…"

The cadet pulled his .45 out of the holster at his side and cocked it, then pointed it at the window.

"What are you doing?" Dotty asked.

"I want to see how good the illusion is." He looked over at Alexander, his eyes filled with a challenge.

"It's not going to spring a leak if you shoot it," Alexander said, annoyed. "There's a force field holding the water back. Put the weapon away before you hurt yourself."

"So it's a _window_?"

The Ancient scowled, and threw his hands up in frustration.

"Yes, it's a window. Are you _happy_?"

"Where are we?"

"I'm not going to tell you."

"Then send me home, because I've had enough of this funhouse."

"We need to talk."

"No, we don't. I want to go home. Now."

"Ian," Dotty stepped forward, well aware that things were getting out of hand. "I know you're having a hard time with this, but you need to try and understand what's going on, and to do that, you need to listen to us."

"Why should I do that?" Ian asked her, putting the .45 back and then turning to look at them, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the window. It was cool – even through the Kevlar vest he was wearing – but he didn't move. "You kidnap me from the Stargate, you take me to some rock planet and tell me we need to talk, then bring me here – to God only knows where _here_ is – then you tell me I'm an alien with some kind of mutant gene that hasn't shown up active in centuries, and then you –"

"I never said you were an _alien_."

"You said I was descended from some."

"_One_," Alexander corrected. "And that _doesn't_ make you an alien. I told you that you're human, remember?"

"You also told me this window was an illusion," Ian reminded him.

"I can't tell you where we are, and if I let you have enough hints, you're bright enough to figure it out on your own. We can't allow that."

"It's that big of a secret, huh?"

Alexander and Dotty both nodded.

"So you know why I remember things and no one else does…" Ian said. "Can I go home, now?"

"Soon," Alexander said. "Since we have you here, I'd like to finish the scan I was doing – to see if that's the only thing that's different about you."

"And if it isn't?"

"Then we tell the others, so they know what to expect."

"Tell me something," Ian said, uncrossing his arms and frowning. "We're in a different reality, right?"

"Right."

"And I don't exist here, because I died, right?"

"Right."

"Then why do you care about what's different about me? I mean, you're not going to keep me, right?"

"No," Alexander agreed. "I'm not going to keep you." It was pretty obvious from his expression he didn't _want_ to keep Ian.

"So, why do you care?"

"Because our other selves from your reality _do_ care. And since they couldn't find out – we told them we would. And we _have_. But since you're here, we'd rather not have to drag you back if something else unexpected comes up, so better to find out any other surprises now."

"But why do you care about a reality you don't _even_ live in?"

"The realities are all connected, Ian. Things are the same, even when there are differences."

"Let me explain, father," Dotty told Alexander. He shrugged and she turned to Ian. "If you were on Earth right now – in _this_ reality – and saw your mother, you'd still love her, wouldn't you? Even knowing that she wasn't really the woman who raised you?"

"Sure."

"And if she asked you to do something for her – something that wouldn't do you any good, but would be of great value to her, you'd still do it, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, I get it," Ian said. He wasn't a rocket scientist, but it was a good example and he didn't _need_ to be one to understand it. "I suppose it's not going to kill me to stick around a little longer and let you do your tests," he said, shrugging. "But no more naked holograms, okay?"

"Naked hologra-?"

"Deal," Alexander said, ignoring Dotty's question. "Come on, Sander is waiting."


	7. 07

Colonel Edward Lang was sitting at his desk in the only permanent building at the Alpha site. He was a slight man of fifty-two, with a neatly trimmed mustache and an almost constant look of annoyance on his face. At the moment, he was going over a training list – a list that should have been completed the evening before, but things hadn't gone as planned – and they never did in the Air Force, he knew.

"Sir?"

He looked up to see his Second in Command standing at the door to his office.

"Yes, Major?"

"We're getting company."

Meaning that someone was coming through the gate. Since they didn't have an iris on their gate, Lang was on his feet immediately, heading to the door and out, brushing past the Major. Only moments later, he was standing by the Alpha Site command center, watching as a security team formed up with their guns all facing the now active gate.

"It's Bra'tac's ID, Sir," The Lieutenant at the controls told him.

Since there was very little chance that some system lord even knew that Bra'tac knew where the Alpha Site _was_, much less that he had an ID code to get through the gate, Lang relaxed a little – although he didn't tell his security force to stand down. He wasn't stupid, after all, and he didn't make Colonel by making stupid decisions. There was, after all, always the chance that just that _had_ happened – as small as it was.

"Look alive…" Lang told his people, his hand resting on the butt of his sidearm.

A moment later, a form came through the Stargate, and everyone relaxed visibly when they recognized the old Jaffa Master as he stepped down from the gate pedestal. Lang stepped forward, signaling his men to stand down, and he moved to intercept Bra'tac.

"Master Bra'tac. It's a pleasure to see you again."

"And you," Bra'tac said, giving a slight bow, and then looking around. "Where is my pupil?"

"We received word from Colonel O'Neill several hours ago. They're running behind, but he'll be sending Ian Brooks through the gate as soon as they can."

Bra'tac frowned in annoyance – he'd been looking forward to having Brooks to himself for the next couple of weeks – and Lang shrugged in apology.

"It shouldn't take long, I'm sure. Until then, you're welcomed to spend the time with us – would you like a cup of coffee?"

The old Jaffa lost his scowl, aware that it wasn't this man's fault that the plans were skewed. Besides, he was sure it wouldn't be that long. Jack O'Neill had his faults, but the man was dependable, and Bra'tac was sure he'd bring the cadet to him as soon as he could. He could wait.

"I accept, with thanks."

The two men walked back towards the Colonel's office, and the security force went back to their other duties.

OOOOOOOOO

Sander was waiting for them when they returned to the lab. The old Ancient – and didn't Ian's mind come up with a million ways to make fun of that description? – was leaning against one of the three work tables in the room, his face troubled, although the expression cleared up when he saw that the Cadet was with Dotty and Alexander when they returned.

"Get it worked out?" He asked Alexander.

"More or less. He's agreed to let us finish the tests at least."

"Good, because we're running out of time."

Ian was going to ask what he'd meant by that, but before he could, Alexander handed him the little box once more, and again Ian took it without thinking. It started vibrating in his hand again, but this time he was ready for it. He looked at it as he held it, trying to figure out how it worked. All he could see, though, was a little metal box. He couldn't even see a mechanism that would explain why it vibrated.

"What _is_ this thing?"

"A molecular scanner – it's just reading through your DNA to see if there is anything else we need to be aware of."

"Is there?"

Alexander looked at the readout that he'd looked at before, and shrugged.

"Nothing that you need to be concerned with."

"I'm not an alien? Really?"

The Ancient shook his head.

"You're human, Ian."

"With an _alien_ gene and an _alien_ ancestor from somewhere way back when…?" He started to cross his arms but couldn't comfortably do it with the box in his hand. "I don't-"

"You're more human than we are."

"Oh, big deal. You guys are aliens. My _dog_ is more human than you are."

Dotty smiled.

"You're not going to grow tentacles or scales," she told him. "You just have an odd gene – and what really _is_ a remarkable ability."

"What about Shawn?"

Dotty hesitated.

"What about him?"

"He's your son, right?"

She nodded.

"And Jack's son?"

"Yes."

"So he's an alien?"

"Half of him is," she agreed. There was no sense hiding it, since she knew she wouldn't be able to. "Is that going to be an issue with you?"

He shrugged.

"Nah, I always knew there was something odd about him – he's too much of a do-gooder to be completely human."

"Do-gooder?"

Ian shrugged.

"He's a nice guy – and polite as hell. Even with people you can tell annoy him."

"And that's bad?"

"_I_ can't do it." He turned the subject away from himself and back to where it had started. "So does Shawn have this gene?"

"Probably – although I'm sure it's not active in him. And I _know_ he doesn't have a photographic memory."

"Maybe he doesn't in _this_ reality, but does in the others?"

She shook her head.

"It doesn't work like that. What he was _here_, he is in your reality – and all the other ones. The only thing that changes is the circumstances."

"Like me being dead here…"

She nodded.

"Yes."

Then Ian realized what she'd said.

"What he _was_ here?" He repeated. "What do you mean?"

There was a flash of sorrow in Dotty's eyes that Ian couldn't miss, even though it was obvious she tried to hide it immediately. And Alexander stepped forward, putting his arm around his daughter's shoulders and hugging her close.

"Like yourself, Ian, Shawn isn't alive in this reality."

"What? He's _dead_? How?"

"The Ashrak killed him," Alexander said, softly.

"No, they-"

"In _your_ reality, they didn't," Alexander told him, "Because you were there to stop them. _Here_, you weren't in the Academy that night, and didn't interrupt the assassination."

Ian felt a stab of guilt, although he didn't know if it was because he had let Shawn down, or because he'd brought up something so painful for Dotty.

"I'm sorry…"

Dotty sniffed, and gave him a slightly forced smile, pulling away from her father's embrace.

"Don't be, Ian. You haven't failed him in your reality – and _that's_ the reality that matters."


	8. 08

"I don't understand," Ian admitted. Of course, there was a _shit load_ of things he didn't understand, but that was beside the point. "What's so special about the reality I'm from?"

The three Ancients looked at each other for a moment, then Sander shrugged.

"So far, it's the only reality we've found that has everything going right."

"Going right?"

"It's complicated."

"Try me."

"We don't have time for this," Dotty said. "The window is getting close to closing, and-"

Sander held up his hand, and she fell silent – although she scowled.

"In all realities there are the same people," he told Ian. "Jack O'Neill, Samantha Carter, Charlie O'Neill, George Hammond, Daniel Jackson, Teal'c, Shawn Ad-"

"I get it." Ian interrupted, wondering if the guy was going to recite all the people on Earth. "Who's Charlie O'Neill?"

"Jack's son." Alexander answered. "Who – in _your_ reality, and most of the others – shot and killed himself with Jack's gun accidentally when he was a boy."

"Jesus…"

Dotty nodded, knowing that he was thinking about how badly that had to have hurt Jack. This Dotty understood all too well how much it hurt to lose a child.

"So the players – as they are – are all the same in each reality. It's merely the circumstances that change. Like O'Neill's son. Or Jack and Samantha becoming romantically involved. Or-"

"They don't get married in all the realities?"

Sander shook his head.

"In many they're not even close to it."

Wow. That was something he couldn't even imagine. Jack and Sam were so perfect together – even someone as cynical as Ian could see that.

"We have always watched your people, because there are certain people that definitely play a major role in the shaping of your world – and in shaping your world, they shape the future of the worlds that they are in contact with. The other planets they visit, the other races of people they meet. Even our own."

"Jack O'Neill is one of those people. _Maybe_ the most important of them all."

"Why?"

"Because decisions he makes – or has made, in some realities – are what change the path the future takes for your people. Had he not decided to spare the Abydonians, Daniel Jackson never would have forgiven him, and would certainly have never become involved with the Stargate program – which would erase all that _Daniel_ has accomplished. Had Jack not won over Teal'c, then the Jaffa would have remained with Apophis – perhaps to live and wreak havoc on other worlds, or perhaps to die brutally, killed by his Master for allowing his indecision to show at the wrong moment. Whatever would have happened, he certainly would not have gone to Earth and the people of the SGC would have not gained from his wisdom the weaknesses of the Goa'uld. Had Jack not accepted Samantha Carter as a member of his team – _truly_ accepted her, instead of merely obeying orders – _she_ might not have remained with them, and might have gone on to teach at the Air Force Academy or some other institution, instead of helping to advance the technology of your people, and without her, Earth might have been destroyed several times over."

"Not to mention," Alexander added, "Her father never would have met Selmak, and chances are slight that the Tok'ra and the Tau'ri ever would have formedthe alliance they did."

Ian was completely lost. He didn't have a clue what an Abadonian was, he didn't know who Apophis was, and what the hell was a Goa'uld? Add in something about a Selmak – who sounded like a person – and Jacob Carter and whoever the hell the Tok'ra and the Tau'ri were… it sounded like a whole bunch of Greek to him. And the worst part was, he couldn't _admit_ he didn't have a clue, because he'd as good as told them to throw this at him. There was no way his pride would let him admit that they'd been right about it being complicated. It sure the hell sounded complicated. Who knew Jack was so important?

"So you're watching Jack," he interrupted, before they could start throwing more for instances at him. "Because he's important."

"He's not the only one," Dotty said, "as we've already mentioned. There are far more things going on than any one man could be responsible for. But he's at the center of so many crossroads that it's vital to us to keep watch over him."

"We're not telling him what to do," Alexander added. "It's not our place to tell him – or anyone else – what to do."

"Then what are you there for?"

"To help him if he needs it – to safeguard him – or to be there for one of the others, if we can."

"Like when I was shot?"

"Yes."

"We couldn't do anything to keep you from being injured, but our other selves were there to keep you from being lost."

"I already saved Shawn, though, so what's the point?" Ian asked. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but how are you going to know when it's time to stop watching?"

"We won't." Sander said. "And as long as things are going in the right direction in your reality, we don't need to move on and look for a different one. All the key people are still alive in your reality. Which is what makes it so very different from so many others. Your reality – at the moment – has the best chance of seeing things through to a happy future, because all those necessary for accomplishing it are still there."

"Shawn?"

Dotty shook her head.

"He has a different destiny. Saving the Earth isn't it."

"What about-"

"We can't tell you what future is in store for everyone you know, Ian. It changes as circumstances change."

"What's _my_ role in things?"

"We're not certain." Alexander said. "Originally, I would have thought it was simply to be there to save Shawn from the Ashrak, but things aren't shaping up in that direction. The very fact that you're _here_ proves that."

"What do you mean?"

"No human has ever been here, Ian." Sander said.

"Ever?"

They all shook their heads.

"Which means…?"

"That you might be more of a key figure than we anticipated. The fact that you possess a gene and an ability to remember things has set you apart. The fact that Jack O'Neilllikes you – and even better – that _you_ like him, sets the stage for many things that we've never seen in any of the other realities. We can't control them, but we are going to try and help where we can. Even if it means bringing you here so we could run tests to see what makes you so special."

"So that's why you brought me here."

"Yes. Jack's important, but he's not the _only_ one. If it turns out that telling you these things and learning as much about you as we can helps in any way, then what we've done today is as great an accomplishment as any of the times we've saved Jack's life."

"Huh."

Ian was having a bit of trouble with the whole thing. It sounded about as far-fetched as possible that he could be all that important. He hadn't even graduated from the Academy, for Christ's sake. Shit, he didn't even know what he wanted to do with his life. It was going to be hard for him to help mankind to some great future when he couldn't even figure out his own.

"You look confused," Dotty said, apologetically. "We know it's a lot to take in one lump like this."

Ian shrugged.

"I just need a chance to think things through, I guess…"

"Time is something _you_ have plenty of, but which we don't," Alexander told him. "We need to get finished here, and return you to your proper reality before the others discover you're missing."

"Are we done here?"

"There's only one more thing to accomplish," Alexander told him, walking over to the far wall and pressing an invisible button. An odd looking contraption came out from the wall, and the Ancient beckoned Ian over.

The cadet walked across the room, and Alexander took the box from him, and gestured to the device.

"Look into that, please."

"Why? What is it?"

"It's a test," Alexander told him.

Ian frowned, suddenly suspicious of the way that Dotty ad Sander both seemed to be watching so closely, but he couldn't think of any reason not to. What harm would it do? He looked at Alexander for a moment, then turned and looked into the device. All he saw was darkness, and then some swirling lights. And then there was a tightness around his entire head, and although he struggled to get free, something grabbed him and held him, and he felt a great stabbing pain somewhere deep inside his brain. And then he didn't feel anything.


	9. 09

When he came to, Ian was on the floor, with all three of the Ancients kneeling down beside him, and Alexander's hand resting lightly on his shoulder. He squinted against the stabbing pain in his skull, and tried looking up at them – even though the room seemed incredibly bright all of the sudden.

"What the _fuck_ was that?"

Alexander had the grace to look apologetic.

"It wasn't exactly supposed to do that – at least we didn't expect it to."

"I hope not," Ian said, scowling. His head hurt so bad he couldn't seem to focus properly, and Sander frowned, and put his hand against Ian's temple. Almost immediately the pain eased, although it didn't vanish completely. "What was it?"

"A test."

"Yeah? If it was to see how quickly I could fall on my ass I'd say I passed with flying colors."

"It was not."

No shit.

"So what was it?"

"You know of the Asgard?"

"Yeah. They're the Roswell looking aliens – Thor's one of them."

Alexander nodded.

"The Asgard have a device they use for instant learning. A device that will automatically instill knowledge in a being's mind – without that person actually needing to learn the knowledge in advance."

"Nifty."

"Indeed. They have had the technology for millennium, but have not had need for it for centuries…"

"What does that have to do with this?"

"_We_ gave them the technology. And just used a version of it on you."

Ian rubbed his temple – it felt like there were hundreds of little pins trying to poke themselves through his skull – although it didn't hurt as bad as it had before.

"So you taught me something?"

Taught him not to stick his fucking head in anything they told him to – ever again.

"We had hoped to," Sander said, shrugging. "What we have accomplished, we're not entirely sure."

"What?"

"We're not sure what you'll remember and what you won't. The only other time we've used the device on a full human, it nearly killed him. This time-"

"It nearly _killed_ him?" Ian repeated, incredulously. "I thought you guys were-"

"We've modified it since then, Ian," Dotty assured him. "There was far less trauma this time, and with your special abilities you should be able to handle it – the knowledge will be imparted in gradual increments over the course of several months – perhaps longer."

"What _kind_ of knowledge?"

"Knowledge of us – of our kind and some of our technology. Things that we believe may come in handy in the near future."

"Things…" Ian frowned, but he really couldn't focus his thoughts just then. "Have you done this to me in any of the other realities?"

They all three shook their heads.

"So you don't know what's going to happen?"

"No."

"Well, this is really _fucking_ great." Ian dragged himself to his feet – his very unsteady feet that were attached to very wobbly legs – and jerked his arm free when Alexander reached out to steady him. "You're telling me I might die any time, now, thanks to your fucking little testing device?"

"Of _course_ not."

"We'd never risk you like that," Dotty added, frowning. Surely the boy knew that? Hadn't she just told him what he meant to them – and to her? Well, her _other_ self, but it was _her_, just the same. "The device won't hurt you. We just don't know what you will remember and what the device will wipe from your memory to protect your health."

It was Ian's turn to frown, now. He was fairly certain that it wasn't going to be able to wipe anything from his mind.

"What if it doesn't?"

"It's _designed_ to."

"Was it _designed_ to almost kill the _last_ guy you used it on?"

Touché

"It's not the same device, Ian," Alexander assured him. "Over the next few months you'll simply find yourself remembering things that you never actually learned – about people and things that you've never seen before."

"And with your ability to remember things, chances are you'll be able to recall them when you need to."

Ian's anger burned off a little. The thought of learning new things was always interesting to him, and the thought of learning things that could be so far-fetched was even moreso.

"What will I learn?" He asked again. "_Exactly_?"

"For one thing, it'll teach you the languages of several races that you don't know-"

"Japanese?" He'd always planned on learning that.

Dotty shook her head, smiling.

"Goa'uld. Ancient. Unas. Fu-"

"I don't know what a Goa'uld or an Unas is."

"You will."

"These are races of people?"

"Yes. Unas probably won't be necessary, but it was in the program – since they're a race that are almost as ancient as we are – although they are far more primitive."

"How do you know I'm not going to use all this knowledge to take over the universe?"

"Do you _want_ to take over the universe?" Alexander asked.

He didn't even want to take over the Freshman class at the Academy.

"Not especially."

Dotty smiled.

"We have a fair idea of the man you are, Ian. We're not all that worried about you trying to become a system lord."

He'd heard the phrase system lord, before. One of the Jaffa on Chulak had used the word to describe those they were rebelling against when he'd been visiting Bra'tac for the first time. He hadn't expanded on it, and Ian had been too busy – and uninterested – to ask. Obviously, though, he wasn't going to become a system lord. He was an asshole, but he wasn't going to try to take over an entire race of people.

"What we _are_ worried about is making sure that Jack O'Neill has as much support as he can be given," Alexander said, seriously. "As we've already told you; we're determined that the future of _your_ reality is far better than that of many of those that have passed. We're going to do all we can to make that happen – which means giving you knowledge that none of your people – save one – have ever possessed before, and trusting you to use it wisely."

"So what do I do?"

"For now… nothing. The memories won't harm you and the knowledge won't be anything more than a distraction at times. By the time summer comes, you should fully possess whatever you will know, and we'll arrange a way to spend time with you on your vacation – hopefully giving you an opportunity to apply some of that knowledge before things come to a head."

"Are things coming to a head?"

Sander nodded.

"They are. In some realities they already have. With disastrous results for your people, and mine – and several others."

"When are they going to-"

"We don't know. We won't know until it happens."

Ian scowled. That wasn't much help.

"Whenever it happens, it doesn't matter right now," Alexander said, suddenly. "Right now, we need to get you back to your place and time before anyone realizes you're missing."

Since he didn't have a clue how they were keeping people from worrying already, Ian simply shrugged.

"Are we done here?"

"For now."

"Will I be coming back?"

Sander smiled, and gestured for him to follow Alexander and Dotty towards the door.

"That's up to you. When you're ready to decide, we'll be waiting."

Well, _that_ made about as much sense as anything else he'd been told, Ian decided, rubbing his head once more and heading for the door. He nodded a goodbye to Sander, and left the lab, walking with Dotty and Alexander towards the Gateship berths.


	10. 10

Since Ian was still a bit wobbly in the legs from his reaction to the Ancient's learning device, the trip back to the Gateship took a bit longer than it should have, but they didn't waste that time. Dotty and Alexander explained to him what had been happening in his reality to keep the others from noticing his absence.

"As far as _Jack_ is concerned, he took you through the gate and dropped you off, introducing you to Colonel Lang – who is the Commanding officer of the Alpha site."

Ian knew who the Commanding officer was; he'd checked that before going – just in case it turned out to be some old friend of his father's – like Jacob Carter or Jack, for that matter. But if it was someone who knew his dad, it wasn't someone that _he_ knew.

"You messed with Jack's memories?"

He didn't like the sound of that. For that matter, he hated the whole idea. It wasn't right to go fucking around in someone's head without permission. Of course, they'd done that to him, too, so he shouldn't be surprised, right?

"Only a _minor_ adjustment, Ian," Alexander assured him. "I'd never do anything to hurt Jack O'Neill, I assure you."

"Why not just let him in on everything?" The cadet asked. "I don't see _him_ trying to take over the universe or anything if he were to-"

"No." Alexander smiled and shook his head. "The fewer the people who know, the better."

"It's safer this way." Dotty added. "The decisions he's making are the right ones. He doesn't need us making them for him, and we don't want him to believe that he needs to come to us for guidance. We help where we can, but that's all."

"Besides, he'd be _really_ pissed if he found out you guys were screwing with his mind, huh?"

They both smiled, now, but neither actually agreed. They didn't need to, though. Ian knew Jack would be mad. _He'd_ been mad, after all, and he'd heard that Jack's temper was legendary.

"So did you mess with this Colonel Lang's memories, too?"

Dotty shook her head as they entered the docking bay and headed for the Gateship. The two Ancients stood back and gestured for Ian to precede them into the back hatch, and as he did so all the systems in the ship came on. He hardly noticed – automatic lights weren't all that common, but he hated to fly, and was getting ready to do it again. Spaceship or 747… it was all the same. They probably all crashed into the mountains equally hard.

"Colonel Lang received a message the same time that Jack and you went through the Stargate, telling him that the SGC was running a little behind schedule."

"Nothing new for the Military," Ian said, shaking his head when Dotty offered to let him sit in the co-pilot's seat. He'd crash standing up, thank you very much.

"It was simple to do, since we didn't even need to fake the IDC – it went through already. They have no reason to believe that the message wasn't real – especially since we used Jack's voice, and made him sound annoyed."

"Bet _that_ was hard."

The other two smiled, and took their seats.

"We'll send you through alone – you'll have to tell Colonel Lang that Jack needed to go do something else. Try to make it believable."

"I'm not a very good liar…"

"I know."

The ship started sinking into a hole in the floor, and Ian braced his hand on the back of Dotty's chair.

"Just tell him that Sam had something that he wanted him to look at, or something. Everyone knows that if it's involving Sam, Jack would forgo going off-world."

Ian nodded, trying to figure out what he'd say, and how he'd say it to make it sound believable, and watched as the dialing device thing on the center of the console started up, dialing the address of whatever planet they were heading to. He frowned, because the address was similar to the one that Daniel had dialed when they'd left Chulak and had headed back to the SGC – but it wasn't exactly the same. There was an extra symbol, and the two last ones were different. Odd.

A moment later they were back in the main room with the large staircase, and Ian once more saw several Ancients watching them. He wondered what they thought of all that was going on around them, and decided that he'd eventually come back and figure out the secret of the place. Coming back wouldn't be all that hard – he already had the gate address, after all. He wondered if they'd thought about that and had wiped it from his mind, and a second later the symbols came to his mind in the exact order that they'd been dialed on the Gateship. Nope. He still had them. He couldn't help but smile, and was still smiling when they went through the gate and came out a minute later right back at the rocky, barren world that they had left from. The ship landed and all three disembarked.

"We'll send you through with the proper IDC code," Dotty told him, heading for the dialing device. "Just remember that they don't know you had Jack with you when you left."

"I know."

"It was a pleasure to meet you face to face, Ian." Alexander told him, holding his hand out. "I hope to meet you again sometime."

Ian shook it.

"You'll still be popping into my head every now and then, I suppose?"

"If there's need. We'll be around, though – or our other selves will, anyways. So if you need us, we'll be there."

"Well, hopefully I won't, but I'm sure I'll see you again."

He shifted his pack, then, and frowned.

"What's wrong?" Alexander asked as the gate flared to life.

"I left Daniel's book back in your lab."

The Ancient smiled.

"Don't worry about it."

"I'm _never_ going to get it read…" Ian said, scowling. He walked with Alexander, but the Ancient stopped at the edge of the event horizon.

"Good luck, Ian."

The Cadet stepped through the gate.

OOOOOOOOO

A soft snort woke Jack from his sleep. He lifted his head, his arm tightening just a little where it was wrapped comfortably around Sam's warm body, his palm flat against the almost unnoticeable swelling of her lower abdomen. Noticeable to _him_, because it was his child causing it, but not to many others. Not yet. He looked over her sleeping form and in the very faint light coming from outside the window, saw that Jaffer was standing at the edge of the bed, his big head resting on the edge of the mattress, watching him.

"What's wrong, little man?" Jack asked. "Need out?"

There was another snort, and Sam shifted slightly in his arms, turning a little and opening her eyes.

"Jack?"

He smiled softly down at her, kissing her gently.

"Go back to sleep, Sam. I think Jaffer needs out. I'll be right back."

Before he could move, though, the black lab hopped gracefully up on the bed, and flopped down with a contented sigh, his head coming to rest on Sam's hip, right beside Jack's arm. It was an unmistakable plea for a cuddle, and Sam and Jack both recognized it and their hands met as both reached to oblige him.

"Silly dog," she mumbled, sleepily, her words belied by the gentle love in her caress. Jack put his head back down on the pillow, and ran his hands along the silky ears for a moment, before returning it to Sam's stomach, where he brushed a feather touch against that gentle swell. Sam could cuddle their dog. _He'd_ cuddle their little girl.


	11. 11

"We're getting company, Sir."

Lang looked up at his second in command.

"Who is it?"

"No code, yet."

The Colonel looked over at Bra'tac – who had been sitting in his office for almost twenty minutes.

"It's _probably_ Earth."

The Jaffa Master nodded, and stood up, reaching for his staff weapon. If it wasn't, he'd rather be armed when someone unfriendly came through the gate.

Lang stood as well, his own hand automatically making sure his sidearm was loose in its holster as the three of them headed outside. They arrived in time to see the gate flare, and as they were walking towards the control center – which was a pavilion type set-up when the weather was good like it was just then – they could see several people listening in on different communications and watching their computer screens carefully.

"Receiving SG-1's code, Sir," their gate operator informed him as they approached the field.

All three men relaxed visibly, as did the armed guard that had swarmed the gate area, weapons out and ready to repel any intruders.

"It's about time," Lang said.

Before Bra'tac or any of the others could reply, a lone form emerged from the gate, and it shut down behind him – telling them that he was the only one coming.

Ian stood there, looking around for a moment, getting his bearing. His dark eyes lit up when he saw Bra'tac standing there, and although he didn't smile, he did give the Jaffa a slight bow to acknowledge him. A bow that Bra'tac returned as Ian walked over to them.

"Where's Colonel O'Neill?" Lang asked.

Ian shrugged, looking back over his shoulder at the gate and then back at the Colonel who was standing by Bra'tac. This had to be Lang.

"He had other things to do. _Major_ O'Neill wanted him to see… her etchings."

"What?"

_Etchings_? Jesus, that was the _best_ he could come up with?

"He had something else to do," Ian said. "Sam asked him to stay, and he did. You know how Jack is when it comes to Sam lately."

Actually, Lang _didn't_ know. He hadn't seen O'Neil in several weeks – although he'd spoken with him recently – but it was something that Colonel O'Neill would do – and it was obvious that the kid standing in front of him knew that well. Not a lot of people called O'Neill _Jack_, after all. And not so casually. When they'd discussed Ian Brooks over a radio, O'Neill had said he liked the kid – and now Lang knew that it was mutual.

"Yeah." He held out his hand. "I'm Colonel Lang."

Ian shook it; glad the guy didn't want to be saluted, since he didn't feel like adhering to military protocol just then.

"Yes, Sir."

He would have told him it was nice to meet him, but he hadn't decided for sure that it was – so what was the point? He was glad to see Bra'tac, though, and when he turned his attention from the Colonel to the Jaffa he smiled and held out his hand.

"Master Bra'tac, it's a pleasure to see you again."

"Ian."

Lang looked surprised at the familiar address, and the warm smile on Bra'tac's face when he shook the cadet's hand.

"You do not look as bad as I was expecting you to look," Bra'tac said, looking the boy over. "O'Neill said you were badly injured."

"I _was_," Ian told him. "But I had a bit of help in the healing, so now they just have to keep me away from the people who aren't supposed to know about it – at least until enough time has passed that I _should_ be better."

Since O'Neill had explained all that to Bra'tac, he nodded his understanding. Although Ian looked healthier than he'd expected, he did look a little pale and shaky.

"You are not completely well, yet, though?"

Ian shook his head.

"Almost. Well enough to be looking forward to lessons from you, Master Bra'tac. I'm honored that you're willing."

"It will be my pleasure," Bra'tac told him, sincerely.

Lang cleared his throat, getting their attention.

"Why don't I show you where you'll be quartered, Cadet Brooks? Master Bra'tac? We have quarters set aside for you as well, if you are planning on remaining here full time…?"

The old Jaffa nodded; there was no reason for him to come and go every day, and he was looking forward to seeing what the boy could learn within the short time he'd have him.

"I will be remaining as long as Ian is here."

_Sweet_!

Ian couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes, and Bra'tac noticed it and was pleased at the enthusiasm. He slapped the young man affectionately on the shoulder as Lang and his second in command led them away from the gate and towards one of the large tents. He might be looking forward to it, but he was going to be worked hard. As hard as they could without killing him, anyways.

OOOOOOOOOO

"You realize we're going to have to send Ian Christmas presents, don't you?" Sam asked over breakfast the next morning.

Jack nodded.

"His dad and I were talking about that. Nate was actually planning on coming back for Christmas to make sure Ian didn't feel too alone in his 'rehab facility'."

"What did you say?"

It wouldn't be good if Nathan Brooks showed up at the SGC on Christmas day, looking for his son – who wasn't going to be anywhere in the vicinity.

"Told him you and I would make sure he was loaded down with presents and fruitcake."

"I'm _not_ going to make a fruitcake, Jack."

He shrugged.

"We can buy one."

"And send it to the Alpha site? Hammond's not going to like that…"

It wasn't like sending a package Federal Express or anything… operating the Stargate cost money every time it was activated. Hammond knew that better than anyone, since he was responsible for justifying the considerable expenses the day to day operations of the SGC accumulated.

Another shrug.

"He'd like it better than Maggie and Nate showing up demanding to see their son so they can make sure he's filled with holiday cheer. Imagine Nate's reaction if he found out Ian wasn't around…"

That was true.

She smiled, and shrugged.

"Fine, we can buy him a fruitcake – and all sorts of presents. Although I don't think we'll be able to stuff Cassie in a box with enough air holes to keep Hammond from getting suspicious."

Jack scowled.

Sam grinned.

"She's going to grow up sometime."

"When she's 90."

"She'll be 18 in March. Then what are you going to do?"

"Stuff her in a barrel and lock her in the basement until she's 90."

"We don't have a basement."

"We'll dig one."

Sam leaned over and kissed him.

"You're going to be too busy doing Lamaze classes and picking out baby furniture to worry about that."

He smiled, and kissed her back, and then stood up, picking up her empty dishes.

"I'll find the time to get it all done – and still beat Ian away with a stick. You'll see."

"_He's_ not the one you have to beat away, Jack," Sam told him, standing up. "_She_ kissed him, remember?"

Yeah, yeah.

"We'll buy a barrel when we shop for the crib."

Sam laughed, and grabbed up his keys and tossed them to him.

"Let's get going, Colonel. I have doohickeys to experiment on."

Jack caught the keys, and nodded.

He had… paperwork to avoid doing.


	12. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

"I've never seen such a _sorry_ looking room in all my life. I'm surprised neither of you have had your sloppy asses booted out of here, yet."

River Hayden and Shawn Adams both turned at the sound of the completely unexpected voice – a well-defined drawl that somehow managed to be mocking and warm at the same time.

"Ian!"

Shawn rolled off his bunk – where he'd been lounging while waiting for River to finish making his own – and headed for the door. River straightened also, and abandoned his bed-making to come over and greet his roommate as well.

"I thought you weren't going to be back for another _week_?"

"I'm glad to see you, too." The New Yorker said, tossing his duffle bag at the blonde cadet, who caught it easily and threw it up on the bunk above his own.

"You look a lot better," Shawn said, unable to stop smiling. Everyone else in the Academy might find Ian to be a major asshole, but _Shawn_ liked him and was glad to see him back.

Ian _did_ look a lot better. Not only was he completely recovered from his injuries, but he was tanned and fit after more than a month in the clutches of Bra'tac – which Shawn knew about, but River didn't, so he couldn't mention it. The dark-haired cadet looked leaner than before – especially in the face – but he looked great, and when he slipped off his leather jacket and tossed it up onto his bunk beside his duffle, both of his roommates could see there was more definition in the muscles of his back and shoulders. Although his jeans hung a little looser on his slender frame.

"Jesus, rehab really did wonders for you, Brooks," River said. "What did you do? Hit the weight room every day?"

"Something like that."

Ian wasn't above showing off, of course – he was a young male, after all – so he paused for a moment and flexed. Still not bulky – and nowhere near as big as his father was – Ian had probably gained a few pounds of muscle. Being driven day after day by Bra'tac will do that to you, after all.

"You're cleared to return?" Shawn asked.

"Yeah. Dr. Reed and Janet Fraiser have both given me the once over and poked and prodded me, and proclaimed me fit to return to classes and _all_ activities."

"That's good to hear," River told him, meaning it. "We were getting a little tired of the room smelling good, and not having to dodge your underwear on the floor."

Ian smiled.

"How was your Christmas?"

"Went home and spent time with my family – my sisters all think you're cute, by the way – but I told them you were gay, so I think you'll be safe to come visit on Spring Break, if you're interested."

"I'll see if I can clear my busy schedule…" He was touched by the offer, even though he hid it behind his usual bored mask.

"Speaking of _schedules_," Shawn said, looking at his watch. "We've got ten minutes to get to PT."

"Well, _shit_," Ian scowled. "Just the reason I hurried back – so I could do a shitload of jumping jacks."

"Self defense class today," River told him, grinning as he opened the drawer that held Ian's sweats and sweatshirts that were the uniform for PT and tossed him a set. "You'll probably want to pay attention. See if the next time you get jumped, you can knock them all out – or break their fingers so they can't shoot you."

"Fuck you, Hayden."

Ian caught the sweats, and ignored the laughter of his roommates as they headed for the door.

"Don't be late," Rivercalled back tohim. "You know Lieutenant Wills loves to abuse the late guy."

Yeah, yeah. Ian wasn't worried.

OOOOOOOO

"Well, shit…" River growled less than half an hour later as he fell into step beside his two roommates. "I _knew_ there was a reason I was sorry to wake up this morning."

"It's not _my_ fault," Ian said, defensively.

"You told him to go fuck himself, you moron. How is that _not_ your fault?"

"It slipped out."

The three of them had just been sent off the mats and outside, where they'd be running laps for the rest of the PT period. Ian had arrived to the self defense class only a few minutes late, and the instructor – who was not one of his admirers – had decided that the best way to teach the young man that he was back in the academy, now, and that he needed to start remembering that the academy used clocks for a reason, had called him up front to the main mat, determined to use him as a sparring partner.

He'd joked about being careful with the cadet, since he obviously bruised easily, and Ian hadn't found it at all funny, and had told the Lieutenant to go fuck himself. Even though the rest of the class, and the two other instructors, hadn't been all that amused by the comment either – it was bad discipline to allow such a phrase to go unpunished, and Ian had been sent to run.

When Shawn had spoken up – out of turn – saying that the comment had been warranted, he'd been sent to run as well. River had stood up, then, too, but before he could even bitch about the shitty treatment of his roommates the Lieutenant had sent him off as well.

So they were running.

Ah well. They were all used to it.

"How was your Christmas, Brooks?" River asked, deciding to use the time to get caught up on things. He wasn't going to admit it, but he had missed Ian – although he didn't miss running laps. "Did you see Cassie?"

Ian shook his head. He'd spent Christmas the same way he'd spent every day he'd been at the Alpha site; working with Bra'tac on yet another move and learning as much about the Goa'uld and the Jaffa as the old man was willing to tell him – which was a lot. Since Bra'tac didn't have to worry about National Security, and Ian wasn't under orders to not ask, the two of them ended up spending a lot of time discussing the rebellion of the Jaffa – which Ian found was more or less started by Teal'c and Bra'tac and had been growing in leaps and bounds.

"I didn't see anyone – although I got cards and letters."

He'd received a fruitcake and a bunch of pomegranates, too – no question who the pomegranates were from; he hadn't even needed to open the card. He and Bra'tac had demolished the lot – although they'd both steered clear of the fruitcake – and had returned to their sparring, which was a lot more satisfying than what Ian was learning at the academy.

"Are you going to see Cassie?" River asked.

"Are you writing a fucking book?"

The Californian laughed – yup, he'd missed Ian.

"I'm just curious. I thought I'd write to her… but I don't want to invade your territory…"

"She's not my _territory_, Hayden," Ian said, and left it at that.

He had a million other things to think about – and there were more things every day. His love life – or lack of one – and his feelings for Cassie were way down on the list when compared to the sudden flashes of memories that had started appearing in his mind only a few days before. Flashes that weren't really annoying, but that he didn't recognize as his own. Which meant that that damn Ancient device was finally starting to kick in – and that meant that he was going to be that much more distracted as he tried to deal with them, and focus on the world around him at the same time. It wasn't going to be easy – even for him – and that meant he wasn't going to have a lot of free time in his head for thinking about Cassie.

Although he definitely didn't find the idea of River writing her very pleasant, he admitted to himself.

He gave a purely mental shrug, and returned his attention to what he was doing. Things were coming to a head, yes, but he had time. For now, he had to focus on his running, or he'd probably trip and fall and probably break his leg. And wouldn't _that_ be a right pain in the ass? They'd never allow him to run again, deciding that bad things happened to him when he ran. Well… maybe that would be worth the broken bone…?

Nah.

**The End**.

_So! It was short, and I know there's a lot left to tell, but the story was of Ian's trip through the gate, and he's back, now. The rest of the tale belongs in other stories, which are still to come. Let me know what you thought of this one, please. Favorite line… favorite concept, stuff like that. A new one will be started soon, I promise!_


End file.
